Diana I of Dagmar

''"Imperator Diana I" redirects here. For ships with this name, see Dagmarian ship Imperator Diana I.''

Diana I (Russian: Диана I Фёдоровна Николаевна Романова, tr . Diana I Fedorovna Nikolayevna Romanova; 6 July [O.S. 25 June] 1796 – 26 February 1970) reigned as High Empress of Dagmar, Queen of Cleves and Archduchess of Austria from 1825 until 1970. She was the third daughter of High Emperor Nicholas I of Dagmar, King of Atlantis and Cleves and younger sister of her predecessor, Philip I. Diana inherited her brother's throne despite the protests of her older brother's widow and her older brother's underaged children. She is mainly remembered in history as a reactionary ruler whose reign was marked by geographical expansion, economic growth and massive industrialisation on the one hand, and centralisation of administrative policies and repression of dissent on the other. Much like the supposed murder of the Princes in the Tower in England in the 1480s of the deposed King Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, she imprisoned and later on "murdered" them and her older brother's widow - making her the sole heiress to the Imperial throne and crown. Diana had a happy marriage that produced a large family; all of her children survived to adulthood, the death of her husband [Nicholas] in 1 November 1860 ended their happy family life with Diana never remarrying, considering it to be a betrayal to the memory of her late husband.

Diana's biographer Nicholas V. Riasanovsky wrote in his preserved diary that she displayed iron-clad determination, a powerful sense of duty to both her country and her family, a love for simplicity and a interest in Meditation. She saw herself as a ruler not as a person—which meant that she rejected thinking of herself as a person and instead thought of herself as the literal living personification of her Empire and by association her country [Dagmar]. A handsome woman, she was highly nervous and detested social events, preferring to spend time with her ministers working to better the lives of her country's people or spending time with her family's servants [whom she considered members of her own family] and all of her family members, relatives-in-laws and grandchildren. Trained as a swordswoman, she was a skilled sword-fighter and passed her love of sword-fighting and sharp eyesight onto her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was considered a stickler for minute details by her family members - something which she furiously denied in all of her various biographies.

Diana I was instrumental in helping to create an buffer zone between the Dagmar Empire and the Mercury Empire in the form of the Italian Duchy of Savoy, and helped along the resumption of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus by moving to help Emperor Nicholas I of Russia seize Iğdır Province and the remainder of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan from Qajar Persia during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828. She oversaw the successful end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829 by acting as the neutral witness of the treaty that was subsequently signed at the end of the war between the two previously warring nations. She would later personally lead some of her country's finest troops into the Crimean War which raged between 1853–1856, with disastrous results. Historians emphasize that her micromanagement of the armies hindered her generals, as did her misguided strategy. William C. Fuller notes that historians have frequently concluded that "the reign of Diana I was a catastrophic failure in both domestic and foreign policy." On the eve of her death, the Dagmarian Empire reached its geographical zenith, spanning over 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles), but had a desperate need for reform.

Early life and road to power
Diana was born at Gatchina Palace in Gatchina to High Emperor Nicholas I of Dagmar, King of Atlantis and Cleves, and Grand Duchess Glora Pavlovna of Russia, youngest sister and most favorite sibling of Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia. Five months after her birth, her maternal grandmother, Catherine the Great, died and her maternal first cousin's parents: Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia became emperor and empress of Russia. She was a younger sister of High Emperor Philip Nikolavich of Dagmar, who succeeded to the throne in 1801 and of Grand Duchess Natalia Nikolaevna of Dagmar. Her younger siblings were Grand Duchess Elena Nikolaevna of Dagmar and Grand Duchess Kanao Nikolaevna of Dagmar. Riasanovsky says she was, "the most handsome woman in Europe, but also a strict and stoic ruler who enjoyed feminine company and was often at her most comfortable surrounded by her male and female Imperial ministers and the Privy Council."

In 1800, at the age of four years, Diana was named Grand Prior of Dagmar and entitled to wear the Reinaian cross.

On 13 July 1817, Diana married Prince Wilhelm of Saxe-Altenburg (1798–1860), who thereafter went by the name Alexander Petrovich when he converted to Orthodoxy. Wilhelm's parents were Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen. Diana and Wilhelm were not related in any way, shape or form, relieving Diana's parents who had previously threatened to disown their eldest son [Philip I] if he dared marry a closely-related relative of his family [on either side].

With two older siblings, it initially seemed extremely unlikely that Diana would ever become high tsarina. However, as Natalia failed to produce legitimate children [all of her children being born from mistresses instead of her legal spouse], Diana remained likely to rule one day. In 1825, Philip died suddenly from a severe epileptic seizure, Diana was torn between swearing allegiance to Natalia or taking the throne for herself. Philip had left a widow behind and several legitimate underaged children [none of whom were old enough to sit the throne yet]; the interregnum lasted until Natalia [before her death] renounced the throne and her succession rights, effectively ending her branch of the Imperial family, making it illegal for any of her descendants [they were not born from a equal marriage] from ever sitting the throne at all. Natalia then died herself one month later. Additionally, on 25 (13 Old Style) December, Diana issued the manifesto proclaiming her accession to the throne.

Early reign
Diana completely lacked the religious understanding and spiritual breadth of her predecessor, Phillip I; she believed that her role was purely ceremonial. Diana began her reign on 14 December 1825 (old style), which fell on a Monday